


Playing Scheherazade

by Talullah



Category: Latter Days (2003)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-21
Updated: 2014-08-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 04:10:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2177394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talullah/pseuds/Talullah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And they lived happily ever after...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Playing Scheherazade

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to _ice_lady_ for the beta. All remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> Written for slashfest, for slashmod who requested Aaron/Christian; a believable recovery story from Aaron's ‘treatment’. Possible first time after treatment would be lovely.
> 
> [Disclaimer/Blanket Statement](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Talullah/profile)

They say a leopard can't change his spots. Christian had changed more than he could have imagined but he was still a man and a sex-starved one. It had been almost a week that he had welcomed Aaron back from the dead, open arms, open heart, open bed, but then for one reason or another, the incredible sexual energy between had just built up without any signs of an impeding release.

On the first night, sex had not been Christian's prime concern. There had been so much to speak of, Aaron was in no shape, and Christian himself had been working double shift for most of the week, without counting with the nerve-fraying preparation for an audition. Lila had sent them home in a cab, courtesy of the house, and they had just slipped into comfy pyjamas and talked in low voices, touching softly, kissing often, until they were sound asleep in each other's arms. Despite his exhaustion, Christian had awaken twice during the night slightly confused, until the solid weight of Aaron and his soft breathing confirmed that his reappearance had been no dream.

The alarm clock had rung way too early and Christian had hastily departed for his weekly lunch-delivery round. Aaron had rubbed his eyes to better watch him gulping down cold coffee and running out of the house. When he returned, Aaron, a picnic, and a message from Lila waited him. She had found an extra hand, another wannabe actor, and he was free to take off his due days. They had gone to the park and lazed the afternoon away. It had been perfect, lying in the grass with his head on Aaron's lap, and his hair gently caressed by long, strong fingers. Jaded from too many one-night-stands, Christian was far from considering himself a romantic but this thing with Aaron was different. He wanted to hold hands and make slow, sweet love. Just thinking on the amazing night they had spent in the airport motel made his flesh lift in goose bumps.

He had kissed Aaron's palm and whispered corny little nothings as he ran his fingers under the brim of his t-shirt. Aaron had laughed, ticklish, and the conversation had drifted to weekend plans until the sun had moved to the horizon and a shy sliver of moon announced the evening. They had walked all the way back home, watching their shadows grow longer in the concrete, feeling as light as the evening's warm breeze.

Christian had introduced Aaron to the pleasures of wine over nice salad and steak dinner. A glass and a half had been entirely too much for the novice: Aaron had quickly gone from funny-loving drunk to deep-asleep drunk. With an amused snort, Christian had shouldered Aaron to the bedroom, taken off his shoes and fallen to his side, surprised by how tired he felt. His last thoughts had been about making love to Aaron first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. He overslept and by the time he woke, Aaron was bustling about the kitchen fully dressed. Christian’s slight disappointed had been quickly effaced by the alluring smell of hot bacon drawing him into his sunlit kitchen. The domesticity of the scene was both amusing and endearing. His audition was at 5 pm so after the hearty breakfast he went through his text again. Aaron tried to help him, but he was too jittery to concentrate. The call from his manager hadn't helped either; the man was supposed to be good but "Don't' fuck up this one" was hardly a good incentive to the struggling artist, or wannabe artist in his case. He had rejected Aaron's offer to accompany him to the studio, perhaps a little too vehemently, leaving the house with ample time for traffic jams, random shootings, and a couple of natural catastrophes. The audition had been a disaster, of course. He had waited two hours to be told to read for another part he knew nothing about. After, he had dragged his ass back home and curled in the sofa, thankful that Aaron was not the resentful type. That night Aaron had made no advancement and he hadn't thought much about sex either.

Predictably, when he crawled out of bed the following morning he had an angry call from his manager, a confusing call from the studio, another blistering message from the manager, and a desperate plea for help from Lila. Like a good wife, Aaron had prepared him a nice breakfast already. The call from the studio had been a mistake, the manager wanted him to go down to his office to renegotiate representation fees and hand him two new parts to study for auditions. Lila had a waitress with a sprained ankle and the stand-in had never shown up. The day had seemed unending and the following had not been too different.

Fortunately, no evil was meant to last forever and by Saturday night, Christian knew he would finally have some free time to spend with Aaron, away from worries. It was not normal that two people in love with each other would sleep in the same bed for a week and not have sex. He blamed his hectic life for it but at the same time something prickled him at the back of his neck. Was something wrong or was it just him?

Upon waking up in a good Sunday-morning mood, he had rolled to the side nestling behind Aaron. Even half-asleep, they adjusted to each other perfectly. Christian had hummed softly, tickled Aaron's neck with his lashes, kissed his hair. Beneath the covers, his hands had traced a map of bone and muscle. Aaron had his leg bent up, difficulting the access to the goods but Christian was in no hurry. All of a sudden, Aaron froze. Christian looked up but Aaron kept his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. Smiling, Christian kissed Aaron’s neck but he ignored him. Hoping that this was some sort of game, Christian tried again. Aaron faked a snore that failed to convinced either of them. Trying to ignore the tent formed in the sheets, Christian lay back. A glance at the alarm clock told him it was still too early in the morning. Aaron could sleep a bit longer, and so could he, he supposed.

They slept until an insistent sunbeam hit them in the face. Aaron was the first to move, but Christian drapped a lazy arm over him, holding him in the bed. Opening one eye, he murmured, “Come here.”

Aaron lay back by his side obediently, and smiled softly. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” Christian replied, returning the smile and reaching out to caress Aaron’s lips with his fingertips.

Aaron kissed them, then Christian’s lips. “I’m gonna get us some breakfast,” he said, turning Christian’s smile into a frown.

“That can wait for a bit, can’t it?” he retorted, holding Aaron down in place.

Aaron tensed again, but Christian kissed him until he relaxed and returned the kisses enthusiastically. By the time Christian had ventured his hand from Aaron’s back to his ass, they were grinding against each other, hard and wanting. Aaron sighed raggedly between kisses, avidly groping Christian as they rolled in the bed. There was no mistaking – their separation had done nothing to diminish the chemistry between them. With a sigh of pleasure, Christian slipped a hand to cup Aaron’s cock. Before he even had the chance to start working on it, Aaron drew back, flushed, panting, and avoiding his eyes.

“What? What’s wrong?” Christian whispered, placing light, appeasing kisses on Aaron’s cheek and neck and returning his hand to safer heights.

“Nothing, nothing,” Aaron lied.

Christian searched his lips but Aaron avoided him.

“Will you tell me what’s wrong?” Christian insisted softly, still caressing Aaron as tenderly as his impatience allowed.

A long pause followed. Aaron blushed intensely and gazed at the covers. “I have to…” he finally said, arresting himself before the thought was concluded.

“You have to what?” Christian asked, concerned.

Aaron lowered his head. “You know…” his eyes darted to the bathroom door.

Christian fell back to the mattress laughing. “Ooh, that,” he exclaimed amused and relieved. It was nothing serious, nothing that a visit to the toilet wouldn’t fix. Or a switch of roles.

“We don’t have to do it that way, you know,” he quickly reassured Aaron, already picturing their bodies merging, Aaron in a more dominant role than the last time and himself moving under him in pleasure. “In fact, I’d prefer the other way…” he started.

Aaron’s cheeks grew redder. “I know. It’s just that, erm, well, could we do this later?”

Christian rolled to his side, turning his back on Aaron. He had been right after all – more than his busy schedule, it had been Aaron’s reluctance that had stood in the way of sex. And yet, it was plain to see that Aaron wanted him. Tossing an arm over his eyes to block the sunlight, Christian made an effort to calm himself, and consider the quandary before him.

A good quarter of an hour passed before an apologetic Aaron showed at the door telling him breakfast was ready. They ate in silence, Aaron darting nervous, guilty glances in Christian’s direction, both infuriating and troubling. The silence grew heavier until it was veritably painful. Christian excused himself from the table, practically running to his room to shower and dress. Then he left the house with a vague goodbye and headed off with no particular direction. He just needed to think.

By the time he had returned to the house, hungry and ready for a generous late lunch, Christian had come to a few conclusions. One of them was that he wanted Aaron in his life without a shadow of a doubt. That meant that this issue would have to be resolved. That meant he would have to be patient and extract whatever was wrong from Aaron. He had a pretty strong idea of what that might be. A shiver ran down his spine as he pictured some of the things that Aaron had reluctantly told him about his days at “Treatment Centre”.

He put his key to the door, but before he turned it, Aaron opened it in a wild swing and stood at the threshold staring at him, his mouth moving dumbly until the words came out. “I’m sorry,” he said, the corners of his lips twitching.

Christian moved in and embraced him, slowly taking them inside all the way to his room. His flatmate could arrive at any moment and he was not interested in interruptions and small talk.

Aaron sat on the bed by his side, examining his knuckles. “I’m sorry that I can’t…” he started.

When it was clear that more would not come, Christian placed an arm around his shoulders and kissed his hair. “You don’t have to apologise,” he tenderly said. “Just trust me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Aaron took a deep sigh. “I’m afraid.”

“Of what?” Christian whispered, tightening his hold on Aaron. “I won’t hurt you, ever.”

“I know,” Aaron replied with a sigh. “It’s just that… I’m afraid to discover that they succeeded and that I can’t... You know, that I can’t do it.”

“You sure seemed ready this morning,” Christian teased softly, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, but…”

“But what?” Christian insisted delicately, trying to understand.

Aaron glanced at him, but quickly returned his eyes to his knuckles. Christian covered them with his free hand, squeezing fondly.

“Ever since I left there,” Aaron started, “I haven’t come.” He let go from Christian’s fingers and turned his face. “There, now you know it.”

Christian was left silent for a few moments, wondering. He had no idea on what to think or say. “But have you tried?” he blurted.

Aaron did not chide him for his stupidity. He simply replied, “Yes.”

“And?”

“I can get excited but after, nothing. And I don’t know how it will be when we’re together…”

Silence overtook Christian for a few moments. “What happens? What goes wrong?” he finally asked.

Aaron shook his head. “The electrical shocks, the ice baths… the insults. It all comes back to my head and it’s like I’m there again.”

Christian had imagined it himself to be the cause but the admission still came as a shock. Aaron’s defeated tone threatened to break his heart. He placed his palm on Aaron’s cheek, making him face him, but Aaron kept his eyes low.

“I don’t want to think of that when I’m with you,” he said.

“You won’t,” Christian promised, without any idea on how he could make true on his word. He kissed Aaron lightly on the lips. “We can wait…” he offered half-heartedly. All he wanted to was to lie naked with Aaron and show him how good that thing between them was, how true and how surprisingly tender and joyful it was.

Aaron shook his head. “I don’t want to wait… It’s just that-” He left the thought unfinished and kissed Christian instead, quickly moving from haste to passion.

Christian tried to pause to ask Aaron if he was sure, but instead he found himself divested of his shirt. Aaron pushed him back to lie on the bed, kissing him fiercely as he extricated himself from his sweat pants and slippers in one smooth movement. Christian’s hands ran for his own fly but Aaron was there already, hands eagerly working at complying buttons. Surprise washed over Christian but he was too stunned to make any objections. He let himself go, returning the torrid kisses, grasping hard at Aaron’s flesh and letting the wild feelings devour him.

Aaron had obviously inspected the room well-enough during the week. Christian only saw him darting quick as lightning for the night table, bringing lube and a condom with him. He sat up, trying to stop Aaron for a second – it was all going too fast.

Aaron paused, kneeling between his legs ready to roll the condom on. “Now, before I lose my nerve,” he pleaded. The misery in his voice stabbed at Christian but he understood that the time begged not for sweeter caresses but for a quick conclusion. He took the condom from Aaron’s hand, not sure of how things were going to be. Aaron whispered, “Put it on… please. We can try the other way later.”

Christian didn’t have to be asked twice. Aaron lay with his stomach down, looking back in askance, that heartbreaking twinge of fear shadowing his eyes as Christian smeared the lube. He tried to enter Aaron slowly as it had been a long time, but Aaron just pushed up too fast. He whimpered, clamping painfully around Christian as both settled down. Christian whispered, “Slowly, slowly,” kissing his back, his hair, his ear, waiting for him to relax. He moved slightly, making Aaron wince, and sneaked his hand under them, searching for Aaron’s cock. From completely hard just seconds before it had gone predictably limp, disheartening both.

Cursing himself for letting Aaron’s haste command his actions, he tried to extract himself as carefully as he could. Aaron looked back, mouthing “Please,” but Christian turned him over in the bed, kneeling between his knees. If Aaron wanted fast, he would have it but on his terms. He deposited a brief kiss on the line where milky skin met dark blond curls, and took Aaron’s cock in his hand, trying to coax it back to life. Their eyes met, but Aaron averted his, embarrassed. When it was half-mast, Christian took him in his mouth. Aaron tensed but Christian took him as deep as he could, sucking, swallowing, humming with devotion. His eyes were closed, but he knew a man’s body well and he knew that body in particular. He could hear Aaron’s breathing growing faster, the cock in his mouth fuller and harder. He could feel Aaron’s pulse racing on his tongue, and his skin growing hotter.

Aaron’s grip on his hair was nearing painful and his jaw was threatening to break but Christian continued sucking, avidly tasting the bitter pre-cum. What mattered was that Aaron was almost there, his balls drawing up, his cock becoming impossibly large and hot. He dared one glance up and their eyes met for a fraction of a second. He could only read trust and pleasure in Aaron’s face. Abruptly, Christian slowed his frenetic bobbing to slow, strong movements. The sudden change in rhythm and pressure tilted the scales. Aaron trembled as a long moan left the deep of his throat and his hips convulsed, pushing hard into Christian’s mouth, as hot jets left his cock.

Christian swallowed, something he hated, but any other solution would have ruined the moment. As he crawled up to lay by Aaron’s side, he glanced at his wristwatch. The whole thing had taken roughly ten minutes, a far cry from their other encounter, but it had been equally intense. For a moment he had almost come too just from watching Aaron.

He swallowed to clear the taste from his mouth and kissed Aaron. “Was it good?” he asked as any virgin boy.

Aaron beamed at him, nodding. “I love you,” he blurted.

That was the first time the words were said. Christian thought he should be intimidated but he only felt loved and it was the best thing in his life. “I love you,” he repeated, the tired old words glistening as new in his mouth.

“It’s so easy with you… I couldn’t alone,” Aaron said, turning to kiss Christian. As their embrace became tighter and the kisses deeper, Christian could feel him becoming hard again, grinding against his own hard cock. He still had the condom on, Aaron was still lubed… It had been so easy to go from one thing to the other, now without pain or fear.

Christian was too close to the edge to make it last, but later they had loved each other again, this time slower, savouring every inch of skin. Christian had only noticed the afternoon had rushed by when his stomach growled. Still, he preferred being in bed with Aaron to eating. They made love again, talked, napped and awaken to the cold moonlight to love again.

Finally exhausted, Christian had set the alarm clock for the next morning, though he was not sure he’d be able to wake. The last thing he remembered before falling asleep was Aaron’s arm snaking around his waist and a low, sleepy mumbled, “I love you.”

Strange, difficult, and new as love might be, it was something he liked. More than like, it was something he could lose himself to.

In reply, he had simply said, “I love you too.”

That was enough.

 

 _Finis_  
_April 2007_


End file.
